Edge Performance turbo 912

[Shadowrider]

I have a Kitfox on order and planning on putting the edge performance turbo 912. We have spoke with Jason from badass motor sports in Canada. Anyone else run these motors or have feedback?

[AirFox]

I installed Edgeperformance EFI Kit to my 912 ULS. I'm very happy with it. Jason gives awesome support when it comes to installation and tuning. The EFI makes the Rotax run like a Modern fuel injected engine. Very smooth and efficient. I've found the claims on HP, economy and quality that Edge make are accurate. Good luck with your build.

Scott

[PaulSS]

I was looking at the EFI conversion and upping the HP of a 912 ULS (to 120 hp). As per the Edge website, you do need to be aware that this conversion will void the Rotax warranty.

I decided to stick with a 912iS for my machine but the Edge conversion looks a great bit of kit.

[aviator79]

No experience with the Edge turbo kit. Some people on the forum have said good things about the EFI kit.

I think if you consider that engine, you should make sure you're comfortable with being a true experimenter. If their performance claims are correct, that engine runs at Brake Mean Effective Pressure of 254.6 psi. That is very high for any engine. Consider that the 912 ULS before the conversion runs at about 165 psi BMEP. The 914 UL has a BMEP of around 215 psi. The 915iS is around 235 psi, but has a TBO of 1200 hours.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it would be quite a feat of engineering to push a 912 that hard without compromising reliability, and there aren't enough of those engines flying to establish a service record that can be compared to other engines. I'm not disparaging Edge performance,or discouraging you from buying their product. But that is an experimental engine in the truest sense. You not only void your warranty, but no data that Rotax used to certify any of their engines or to establish their TBO figures can be applied to that conversion. You can't install it thinking you have a good ol' reliable 912 ULS that just happens to make 50% more horsepower.

[Av8r3400]

The candle that burns twice as bright...

[Shadowrider]

Yes the beauty of boost. Thanks for the input everyone. My concern with reliability is a good tune. They seemed to have the efi kits/tunes figured out. I guess they have 60+ Turbo 912 running in gyrocopters but not many in aircraft. Trying to get some numbers on climb, cruise, and fuel burns.

[littlecricket]

I was looking at the EFI conversion and upping the HP of a 912 ULS (to 120 hp). As per the Edge website, you do need to be aware that this conversion will void the Rotax warranty.

I decided to stick with a 912iS for my machine but the Edge conversion looks a great bit of kit.

How long is warranty good for? And, how good is rotax in honoring it? Just curious.

[Shadowrider]

How long is warranty good for? And, how good is rotax in honoring it? Just curious.
I don't think there is a warranty and no, Rotax will not honor anything.

[littlecricket]

I don't think there is a warranty and no, Rotax will not honor anything.

Sorry, I meant Rotax not Edge...

[PaulSS]

I know what you meant, LC :)

I don't know the details of the Rotax warranty as I haven't got my aircraft or engine yet. However, as I said, I did look at the Edge options and the fact that the conversions nullify any Rotax warranty was a consideration.

If I were to buy a second hand Rotax and convert it there wouldn't be the same issue as buying a brand new engine and doing the same thing. Unfortunately (for this situation), I'm getting a new engine.

The Eurofox guys in the UK are currently testing the 120hp Edge conversion they've carried out on a 100hp 912ULS. The aircraft is going to be used for glider tugging, so the extra power will be great for that and I'm sure the aircraft will almost leap vertically from the ground, as it's already great with 100hp. However, there's no variable pitch prop in use in the UK (yet) and so I don't think there will really be any benefit to cruise performance of the extra 20hp, so I'm going to stick with 100hp and 'endure' the 400' takeoff run, instead of shorter :D

[kmach]

Rotax's warranty on a new 912 uls engine is 200 hours or 2 years, whichever comes first . Any after market modifications void warranty.

[aviator79]

Rotax's warranty on a new 912 uls engine is 200 hours or 2 years, whichever comes first . Any after market modifications void warranty.

2 yrs/200 hours doesn't seem like a great warranty, but that is the period of time when something is most likely to fail. I did read some negative commentary on the Vans website about getting Rotax to honor the warranty. I take anecdotal evidence at face value.

Regardless, I think established reliability and longevity is probably the stronger argument for stock Rotax than warranty. TBO isn't as sexy to talk about has takeoff distance, climb rate, and cruise speed, but it's at least as important. Does Edge have a stated target TBO? You can't replace the crank, cams, pistons, induction, and exhaust and claim the same TBO without solid data.

Again, I think that Edge's stuff looks like pretty good quality, and I've heard only good things about them. But engine failures account for twice the percentage of E-AB accidents vs Certified aircraft accidents. You should consider all aspects of how a conversion changes your engine, and if you can't quantify the effect on reliability and longevity, you should at least be honest with yourself about these being unknown quantities. Unfortunately, unlike horsepower that you can read on a dyno, reliability and longevity are stochastic quantities that require years (decades?) of service data to put numbers on.